Comment Re:The long-term impact of this on the US (Score 4, Insightful) 170
Because scientists follow the evidence to draw conclusions, they sometimes say things that contradict the ideology. Climate change is a good example of this.
Submission + - Iran-linked hackers behind cyber attack that shut down UK power plant (bbc.co.uk)
Alain Williams writes: The government said that at no point was there a risk to the UK's energy system, but the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has contacted power companies to advise them about the risk of cyber attacks.
The Telegraph reported, external that the attack, which took place last month, was carried out by hackers affiliated to the Iranian regime.
For security reasons, neither the government nor the National Cyber Security Centre, which deals with attacks on critical infrastructure, would give further details of the site affected. However this was not an attack on an essential service such as a large power station.
The Telegraph reported, external that the attack, which took place last month, was carried out by hackers affiliated to the Iranian regime.
For security reasons, neither the government nor the National Cyber Security Centre, which deals with attacks on critical infrastructure, would give further details of the site affected. However this was not an attack on an essential service such as a large power station.
Comment The climate is going extreme (Score 2, Interesting) 114
yet people still claim (and some maybe even believe) that climate change is a hoax. Do something before it is too late. I used to think that it would affect my grandkids, not me (I am 71), but I am now not so sure - this Summer has been hot!
Comment These are not 'user agreements' (Score 1) 30
The user does not have any opportunity to negotiate a change to any of the clauses, they are 'terms of business', deliberately written so that most people do not read them and even fewer understand them. Amazon is not really any worse than most of the on-line retailers.
What is needed are a set of agreements that are drawn up to be understandable to non lawyers and to be fair to both parties. There need to be a set of them as the requirements of a business selling clothes is different from one selling pizzas. The agreement must be easily checkable by the user that it has not been modified and there should be a short schedule that the business can specify defined terms, eg: business name, delivery charge and timescale, return address,
Comment Re:Trump threatens the NOAA (Score 3, Informative) 116
For those who have not heard of the blueprint for Trump's presidency see Project 2025
Comment Trump threatens the NOAA (Score 4, Informative) 116
Trump is cutting the NOAA budget -- the organisation that it important as it monitors the weather. The orange despot does not like those who produce facts that contradict his lies.
Comment Fixing this is not at all urgent (Score 0) 183
None of the managers or responsible officials live near by so the stench, pollution and health issues are not as important as cutting costs to increase profits and so get that end of year bonus.
Submission + - Zuckerberg faces questions over why superyacht reportedly declined to help ship (theguardian.com)
Alain Williams writes: Mark Zuckerberg has faced questions over why a small cruise ship in south-east Alaska rescued a stranded skiff and its crew when his 387ft superyacht had been closer.
The Silicon Valley billionaire’s yacht, worth a reported $300m, is said to have “repeatedly” declined to assist when a nearby boat called for help last week.
Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms, was not on board at the time, a spokesperson told Forbes.
When a nearby 21ft skiff ran out of fuel between Petersburg and Juneau, the Alaska Beacon reported operators of a cruise ship that was further away than Zuckerberg’s yacht came to the rescue.
“I’m on a small-ship Alaska cruise with my son,” a passenger on the UnCruise Adventures ship Wilderness Legacy posted on Bluesky.
“Our boat rescued a stranded vessel last night and apparently we did that after the Coast Guard radioed Mark Zuckerberg’s yacht – which was closer – and they repeatedly refused to respond. (There was near unanimous booing when the captain announced this).”
The Silicon Valley billionaire’s yacht, worth a reported $300m, is said to have “repeatedly” declined to assist when a nearby boat called for help last week.
Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms, was not on board at the time, a spokesperson told Forbes.
When a nearby 21ft skiff ran out of fuel between Petersburg and Juneau, the Alaska Beacon reported operators of a cruise ship that was further away than Zuckerberg’s yacht came to the rescue.
“I’m on a small-ship Alaska cruise with my son,” a passenger on the UnCruise Adventures ship Wilderness Legacy posted on Bluesky.
“Our boat rescued a stranded vessel last night and apparently we did that after the Coast Guard radioed Mark Zuckerberg’s yacht – which was closer – and they repeatedly refused to respond. (There was near unanimous booing when the captain announced this).”
Submission + - AI push is putting banks at mercy of tech firms, warns Moody's (theguardian.com)
Alain Williams writes: The rating agency Moody’s has said the race to adopt AI is putting big banks at the mercy of a small group of Silicon Valley firms, leaving them vulnerable to widespread outages and price gouging by profit-hungry tech bosses.
The financial sector’s efforts to integrate AI into day-to-day operations will eventually cut costs and increase revenues across the City and Wall Street, Moody’s said.
But that will require “substantial investments”, and with so many rivals racing towards the same goal, many of those benefits will end up being “competed away”.
AI will also create bigger risks around data privacy, cybersecurity, fraud and so-called “deposit flight”, as well as an overdependence on a small number of tech firms, the rating agency warned.
The financial sector’s efforts to integrate AI into day-to-day operations will eventually cut costs and increase revenues across the City and Wall Street, Moody’s said.
But that will require “substantial investments”, and with so many rivals racing towards the same goal, many of those benefits will end up being “competed away”.
AI will also create bigger risks around data privacy, cybersecurity, fraud and so-called “deposit flight”, as well as an overdependence on a small number of tech firms, the rating agency warned.
Comment Re:gnome is not my favourite ui (Score 1) 26
Gnome has gone downhill after version 2, fortunately that has been kept alive as the Mate desktop.
Comment They ought to install a Flock at the White House (Score 4, Insightful) 162
there will then be a good chance of finding some crooks.
Comment Does Microsoft not sign packages ? (Score 2) 31
If so how are bad packages installed ? Debian keeps keys in
Comment Re:Netcraft Confirms (Score 3, Interesting) 89
For most at-home end users Linux has been good enough for years. Most of these people only use two applications: a web browser (through which they also get web based email), you have a choice of many with Linux; and an office suite (word processing and spreadsheet) that Open Office does excellently. They will not need to use the command line.
Other needs: printing is easy via CUPS; system updates easy; package installation easy; Gimp OK for simple image editing; music playing - well supported; SANE does scanners well.
It just needs someone to do the installation and provide a little initial hand holding and most people then just get on with it. Their main problem is fear of the unknown before they start -- so do your bit and offer to hold peoples' hands.
Yes: there are always people who need something special that you can only find on MS Windows or a Mac; but I am talking about the 80% of home users.
Comment Please let in one last batch ... (Score 5, Insightful) 148
to replace Trump and his cronies. It would be very hard for them to do a worse job.
Comment "But I was frightened ..." (Score 2) 218
"This big, ugly Boarder Officer was in my face and frightened me. My brain/memory did not work properly, the stress of it all made me remember the wrong password which wiped my 'phone."
This may be true. However if they have it in for you they will get you.
